James Gunn Reportedly Has His Ratcatcher For The Suicide Squad

James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad continues to add to its cast, with actress Daniela Melchior now reported to be taking on the role of Ratcatcher in the film. Variety reports that Melchoir has emerged as the top candidate for the role, which is a gender-swapped take on Batman villain Otis Flannegan. Once employed as an actual rat catcher in Gotham City, Flannegan found that he could actually control rats, and began using the bizarre ability to stage a variety of crimes. In the film, it appears that the character will be connected in some way to Idris Elba’s character.

Yesterday, Geeks Worldwide reported that Melchoir was in competition with Transformers standout Isabela Moner for the part, but according to Variety it is all but a done deal for the relative unknown to play the role. Of course, as with any good supervillain, Flannegan would eventually try taking over the city with an army of rats. That didn’t work, but going to jail doesn’t put that much of a damper on the lifestyle of a person who is used to living in dank, damp environments and who can use the rats in and around the prison to ferry messages and goods in and out.

This might make the (reportedly gender-swapped) Ratcatcher a fairly powerful figure within the prison, because in the context of the movie she could probably be a person who can get or do things others under lockdown cannot.

In another twist that might suit the needs of a Suicide Squad story, a more recent take on Ratcatcher at least somewhat reformed the character. Living in a basement below a superhero’s lair, Ratcatcher forced his minions to attack and disfigure a supervillain who was trying to kill Mother Panic.

In addition to an as-yet-unidentified alien femme fatale, Gunn’s The Suicide Squad will reportedly bring back Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), and Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney). Idris Elba, originally reported to be playing the role of Deadshot but in fact playing something new altogether. Ant-Man and The Dark Knight veteran David Dastmalchian will reportedly appear as Polka-Dot Man, while Psych: The Movie‘s John Cena will appear as Peacemaker, a role once thought to be intended for Guardians of the Galaxy star Dave Bautista.

The DC Movie Universe continues with Shazam now in theaters, Joker on October 4th, Birds of Prey on February 7th, 2020, Wonder Woman 1984 on June 5th, 2020, and The Batman on June 25th, 2021. Per Variety, fans can expect The Suicide Squad, which goes in front of cameras soon, to hit theaters in August of 2021.

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